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Up To Date SMR/VHS Info

I thought it might be useful to have a dedicated SMR/VSH thread, and am starting it off with links to some recently dated dated documents outlining the potential and issues.

The short story (from the last paper) seems to be that evaluating for VSH isn't easy - looking for recapping and pinholes seems the best route short of making dedicated tests with varroa laden frames of brood of the right age.

A further line of attack comes from work in the UK that uses dna testing to evaluate virgin queens (from known VSH stocks) to improve rates of transmission which will otherwise vary due to (off) matings. (Intracolony selection) It seems likely there is a service in the UK or Europe (BFA) but I haven't run it to ground yet.

Re: Up To Date SMR/VHS Info

Interesting how the vsh bees don't exhibit as much hygenic behavior towards the drone brood as they do the worker, and the drones supposedly are more preferable to mites. On the other hand, maybe it is better that way because the larger percentage, or total of mites, are in the worker brood because there is much more of it in the hive compared to drone.

Re: Up To Date SMR/VHS Info

Originally Posted by jmgi

Interesting how the vsh bees don't exhibit as much hygenic behavior towards the drone brood as they do the worker, and the drones supposedly are more preferable to mites. On the other hand, maybe it is better that way because the larger percentage, or total of mites, are in the worker brood because there is much more of it in the hive compared to drone.

My theory is... its an evolved mechanism that reduces the male side genetic output. From the point of view of a local population it is better if bees that are suffering the predations of mites do not replicate their genes as strongly as those that have no mites.